An Eggxtra Special Talent
by Awesome Rapidash
Summary: This story was written for the Education / Learning challenge posted in The Village Square. As we all know, Karen can’t cook. But perhaps hope lies for her on Verdure Island. Can she learn to cook from Pierre? Or will she go down in flames!


_**A/N:**__ This story was written for the Education / Learning challenge posted in The Village Square. As we all know, Karen can't cook. But perhaps hope lies for her on Verdure Island. Can she learn to cook from Pierre? Or will she go down in flames! _

_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own anything related to Harvest Moon!

_**An Eggxtra Special Talent **_

The suns warm rays filtered lazily through the window, signifying the dawning of another day on Sprout Island. Karen stirred from her slumber and tried to pull the soft comforter up over her head, wanting to extend her date with the sandman just a little longer. Vacation days were for sleeping in after all! However, the rumbling in her stomach was not to be ignored.

With a sigh she pushed the heavy blue and white checkered blanket back and swung her legs over the side of the bed. A shiver ran through the girl's body as the cool morning air caressed her body. She got up and quickly went through her morning routine. Dressed, she headed out of the room to meet Popuri.

As she neared the dining room, the aroma of hearty country style breakfasts being prepared filled her nose, causing her mouth to water and her stomach to rumble even louder. Karen pushed open the door and walked into the warm well lit room; she looked around and smiled when she saw her pink haired friend waiting for her. She walked across the room and sat down at the table across from where Popuri was waiting.

"Good morning Karen, ready for another fun filled day?" Popuri chirped happily.

"I sure am Pi."

Popuri was about to speak when the Inn's hostess stepped up to their table. She gave the two Mineral Town girls a warm smile. "Good morning ladies, what can I get for you today?"

"I'll have the pancakes with sausage," Popuri replied quickly.

Carol nodded and wrote the pink haired girl's request on her order pad. She then looked at Karen, her pen at the ready.

"I think I'll have the three egg omelet with the ham steak and a side order of hash browns."

"A delicious choice, I make those dishes myself you know!" Carol beamed as she added Karen's order to the pad. "I'll get this right in for you."

For the next fifteen or so minutes Karen and Popuri talked about what they planned on doing that day. Carol finally returned to their table carrying a large metallic tray. She set the tray down and went about placing the girl's breakfast plates on the table.

"I hope you enjoy your food," the hostess said as she stepped back.

Karen nodded and looked at the inviting egg dish in front of her. She quickly dug in and was amazed at the wonderfully delicate tastes that enticed her tongue as she ate. "Mmm, these eggs taste great!"

"It's too bad you can't make eggs that taste like that Karen," Popuri quipped playfully.

A hurt looked filled the brown haired girl's face. "Why do you always have to bring that up?"

Carol gave both girls a confused look, and then turned her attention to Karen. "Um, I take it that you have problems cooking eggs?"

Popuri giggled. "That's an understatement! The last time she tried to make an egg dish, I thought the poor Gourmet was going to die!"

"They weren't that bad Pi," Karen scowled. "He just over-exaggerated how bad they were was all."

"They weren't that bad you say?" The pink haired girl laughed. "I'll never forget the horrified look on the Gourmet's face after he tried to eat your dish at the last Cooking Contest. I also remember him saying afterwords that he couldn't believe that eggs could be made to taste so terrible!"

Karen's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. "Well, I tried my best you know," she sighed softly.

"Perhaps you should pay a visit to Pierre. He was the one who thought me to make this egg dish and I'm sure he can help you too," Carol offered.

"Pierre?" Both girls gave the hostess a curious glance. "Who's Pierre?"

"He's the seventh generation member of the famous Gourmet family. He's also a wonderful chef and an excellent teacher!" Carol replied. "He lives over on Verdure Island."

"Do you really think he could teach me to cook?" Karen asked in a hopeful voice.

"I don't see why not. He's a wonderful teacher and I've learned a great deal from him. So I'm sure he can teach you how to make a simple egg dish."

Karen smiled. "Well, I know what I'm going to do today!"

Popuri gave her friend a smile. "You go and have fun cooking, I'm going to stay here and just relax."

* * *

After finishing her breakfast Karen headed out of the Inn. She smiled as she looked up at the cottony white clouds that dotted the bright blue sky above her. She followed the pathway and crossed the bridge that connected Sprout Island to Verdure Island. It didn't take her long to find Pierre's home, it was just as Carol had described it. A modest sized home with a dark purple colored roof that was ordained with a white colored crisscrossed fork and knife.

Inside the mansion Pierre had just finished with his latest dish, and was wondering what to create next when the sounds of someone knocking on the door drew his attention. He set down the spatula he was holding and walked over to the door and opened it.

"Um… are you Pierre of the Gourmet family?" Karen asked curiously as she looked at the thin blond haired young man standing before her.

"Yes, that's me," he answered. "May I help you with something?"

Karen nodded. "Carol from the Inn told me that you might be able to teach me how to cook."

The young gourmet grinned. "Indeed I can. But may I ask you something first?"

"Sure, what do you want to know?"

"Well, you seem to be looking at me in a rather strange way, almost as though you don't believe that I'm a member of the Gourmet family," he asked curiously.

Karen felt her cheeks heat up as she blushed with embarrassment. "Well, the Gourmet we have in Mineral Town is… well, how do I say this. He's somewhat more robust than you."

Pierre chuckled. "Yes he is one of the finest Gourmets around, and as you are certainly aware, he is a fan of the finest food."

"Well, you certainly can tell from the size of his stomach that he loves food!"

"Indeed, even for a member of the Gourmet family, his passion for food is legendary," he replied with a huge smile. "So, what would you like to learn to cook?"

"Can you teach me to make that three egg omelet that you thought Carol to make?" she asked in a hopeful tone.

"Certainly, that would be a good dish to learn since it's relatively easy to prepare. Please come inside and we will begin right away."

Karen smiled as she followed the purple suited gourmet into the home. They walked down a hallway and turned right into a large well lit kitchen. An audible gasp escaped the Mineral Town girl's face as she looked around at the well-stocked shelves and the racks of gleaming metal cooking utensils. "Wow, you've got everything here!"

Pierre beamed happily at the complement. "Well, having all the proper tools helps a great deal you know."

Karen nodded and watched as Pierre opened the fully stocked refrigerator. She observed intently as he removed a variety of ingredients and placed each of them on the black marble counter-top.

"First off, we need to prepare the eggs," he explained before demonstrating how to properly crack an egg and empty the contents into a large metal bowl. "Now you do it just like I showed you."

Karen nodded her head and picked up an egg. She gently tapped it on the edge of the bowl and when it cracked open, she emptied the egg into the bowl just like Pierre had shown her moments before. She repeated the process with the remaining two eggs and then stepped back. "What do we do next?"

"The next step is to add a little milk and some spices, but be careful not to over spice things! Then we whisk it well to mix everything together."

The green eyed girl mirrored everything just as Pierre had done. A hopeful look filled her face as the dish began to take shape before her.

"After we finish with the eggs, we need to prepare the skillet. To do that we first must add some butter and heat the pan using a medium flame," he instructed.

Once again Karen followed the directions to the letter. When instructed to, she added the eggs to the sizzling butter and stirred them gently.

Pierre gave her an approving look. "You seem to have a knack for this."

"Do you really think so?" Karen questioned. "Up until now I've never seemed to have much luck when it came to cooking."

"Maybe you just never had the right instructor," the Gourmet grinned back.

"I suppose, what do we need to do next?"

"See how the egg is beginning to bubble up in the center? Well that's telling us that the egg is just about done."

Karen nodded and watched as the blond haired young man gently probed the eggs, checking how done they were. "It looks like we are about ready for the next step."

"What's the next step?"

"We need to add the cheese of course! You can't have an omelet without the wonderful rich goodness of freshly grated cheese."

The brown haired girl watched carefully as the Gourmet used a silver colored cheese grate to create a fist sized pile of cheese on the counter. He sprinkled the cheese evenly over the center of the simmering eggs. Then using a black plastic spatula, he flipped the omelet in half. "Now you do it just like I did," he directed.

With a nod the Mineral Town girl turned her attention to the cheese grate. She followed the steps just as Pierre had demonstrated. A grin filled the girl's face as a tantalizing aroma arose from the pan.

"That smells great and looks good too," Pierre commented as he inspected his student's omelet. "Now we just need to get it onto a plate and we'll be finished!"

After Pierre demonstrated the technique to remove the eggs from the pan, he stood back and watched as Karen repeated the process. He took a seat at the table and Karen placed the dish in front of him. She stepped back nervously as the seventh generation Gourmet prepared to dig in.

Pierre looked at the lightly browned egg dish and smiled to himself. Another successful dish! At least that's what he thought until he placed the first forkful into his mouth. At first, his tongue didn't know what to believe. Moments later his eyes began to water and his spit the awful tasting eggs into his napkin. "What… this can't be!" He gasped, struggling not to gag. "This… this tastes terrible!"

Karen gave the man a confused look. "I followed your steps to the letter, what could have gone wrong?"

The Gourmet took another tentative bite of Karen's omelet, just to be sure. He regretted that choice almost immediately as his throat began to burn and his eyes began to water once again. After a moment to catch his breath and regain his composure he pushed the plate back and stood up. "I have to say that you must be a genius of sorts. I have no idea how you were able to make an egg dish taste so terrible!"

"Maybe you're just a terrible teacher!" Karen huffed angrily. "I am so outta here!" she added before heading to the door and slamming it on her way out.

Pierre watched as the angry girl departed. He looked over at her failed egg dish and sighed. "I can't believe she made eggs taste so bad. Such an unfortunate talent that girl has."

* * *

Karen walked into the dining room of the Inn and dejectedly took a seat. She sat in silence, thinking about what had happened. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door to the dining room opening. Looking up, she saw Popuri's smiling face.

"Hey Karen, how was your cooking class?" she asked curiously.

The brown haired girl just shook her head. "Don't ask," she mumbled.

Popuri took a seat across from her friend. "I take it things didn't go so well, huh?"

"No it didn't!" Karen retorted. "That guy was a creep. Can you believe it; he told me that I was some kind of a bad egg making genius!"

"Wow, that's harsh!" Popuri replied.

"Yeah, it was. He didn't have to be so mean about it after all!"

The pink haired girl shook her head. "That's true, but he was just telling you the truth. After all, you just can't cook, simple as that!"

Karen rolled her emerald green eyes. "You too Pi?"

"Sorry Karen," the pink haired girl said slowly. "But the truth hurts you know."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right about that. Still, he didn't have to spit it out like he did. The Gourmet back in Mineral Town at least swallows my food."

"Well, I guess this guy just didn't have the stomach for it."

"I guess. Maybe I can get Ann to teach me? Either that or I'll just have to find a nice guy who can cook for me," Karen replied with a grin. "If I do that then I won't have to worry about it!"

"Good idea. Say, let's go down to the beach and get some fresh air. It will help you to feel better." Popuri suggested as she stood up.

Karen nodded and got up. She followed her pink haired friend out of the Inn and towards the beach on the other side of Sprout Island. As she walked she wondered if there was anyone out there that could teach her to cook. One thing was certain though, next time she wouldn't let a Gourmet teach her.


End file.
